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Cool C
Christopher Roney (born 15 December 1969), better known by his stage name Cool C, is an American rapper whose career peaked in the late 1980s with the single "Glamorous Life" and the album I Gotta Habit. Later in his career, he formed the group C.E.B. alongside childhood friend Steady B and Ultimate Eaze. He is perhaps most known today for his involvement in the murder of a Philadelphia Police officer during a botched bank robbery in January 1996. He is currently incarcerated in a Pennsylvania state prison awaiting execution, which has been delayed numerous times. Biography Career Roney was raised in Overbrook, Philadelphia, and attended Overbrook High School during his teenage years. While attending the school, he met Steady B and the two developed a close friendship. Steady B had already earned a recording contract in 1985 at the age of sixteen, and Roney's association with him led to the first Cool C song, "Juice Crew Dis" being recorded in 1987. The song, released in 1987 on Hilltop Hustlers Records, is an attack at the New York-based Juice Crew and was made because diss records gained notoriety for the artist that recorded them (Roney most likely had no personal problems with the group). The following year, Roney released his second 12", "Down to the Grissle"/"C Is Cool", on Hilltop Hustlers, before signing a major-label contract with Atlantic Records. In 1989, Roney's debut album I Gotta Habit was released. The album is best remembered for the song "Glamorous Life", which became a national hit. I Gotta Habit itself achieved less success, only reaching #51 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Still, the album was successful enough for Roney to release another album on Atlantic, 1990's Life in the Ghetto. The album had no charting singles and reached #72 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Roney was dropped from Atlantic sometime after the unsuccessful release of Life in the Ghetto. After a period of recording inactivity, Roney returned in 1992 alongside Steady B and Ultimate Eaze as the trio C.E.B., an initialism of "Countin' Endless Bank". After their independently-released debut single, "Get the Point", became popular in Philadelphia, the group was signed to Ruffhouse Records. Their only album, Countin' Endless Bank, was released in 1993 to disappointing sales, and the group parted ways with Ruffhouse. Roney released no music between 1993 and 1996. Robbery and incarceration On 2 January 1996, Roney, Steady B, and associate Mark Canty attempted to rob a PNC bank branch in Feltonville, Philadelphia. When a silent alarm was hit and police arrived at the scene, Roney fired a single shot at officer Lauretha Vaird as she entered the bank. Vaird would later die as a result, making her the first female police officer in Philadelphia to be killed in the line of duty. The three managed to get away from the scene, but Roney and Canty left their guns at the scene and they were tracked down and arrested. Roney was convicted of first-degree murder, robbery, aggravated assault, and other related charges, and sentenced to death. His execution date has been delayed numerous times for various reasons, and he is still imprisoned in CSI Greene, a maximum-security prison in Greene County, Pennsylvania. Discography Solo albums *1989: I Gotta Habit *1990: Life in the Ghetto With C.E.B. *1993: Countin' Endless Bank Category:1969 births Category:African-American rappers Category:American rappers Category:Rappers from Philadelphia Category:Atlantic Records rappers Category:C.E.B. members Category:Hilltop Hustlers members Category:Rappers serving prison sentences Category:Rappers from Pennsylvania Category:East Coast hip hop musicians